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For months, I’ve been using Wordcycler (Windows, freeware) to manually sync individual items from Instapaper to my Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi via USB cable. Now that I have a smaller number of articles to read, I’m going to try receiving new items via Wi-Fi through Instapaper.

Like this:

Since the end of 2008, I’ve kept a fairly regular habit of jotting down my trip mileage, odometer, price and other fill-up numbers[1. Date, station, odometer, price, gallons, and partial fuelup (yes/no).] whenever I fueled my 2003 Toyota Corolla at a gas station. When I get the chance, I’d open my spreadsheet file and add the new fill-ups.

When Matt HaugheystartedFuelly, I postponed importing my data and switching from sheer laziness. After revisiting the site a couple days ago, I saw that I already had all the information I needed from my spreadsheet. After renaming the columns and changing a few fields to use boolean logic[2. Partial_fuelup and missed_fuelup from yes/no to 1/0.], my CSV import went through smoothly.

Why I dig Fuelly:

Fuelly displays my data with elegant charts and graphs, which is more than my spreadsheet.

With my smartphone, using Fuelly’s mobile site is gorgeous and allows me to enter new data easily, saving the step of writing it down for later.

If I choose to leave, I can export my fuel-up data to a CSV text file.

Right when I was about to publish this post, Fuelly wouldn’t show any car details. After a quick email to inform the Fuelly team (of what I’m sure they already knew), Paul Bausch replied within minutes that the problem was fixed. Awesome. After a friendly interaction with Paul, and having watched a few episodes of Portlandia, Oregon is starting to look really nice. :)

You really should get a free Dropbox account, especially since you get 2GB free. (Disclaimer: That’s a referral link. If you use my link, I get 500 MB and you get 250MB of bonus space, up to a limit of 16 GB.)

Like this:

It doesn’t matter who you are. You need a calendar. (More specifically, Google Calendar. It’s free, you know.)

Do you truly respect people and their time?

While working at a law firm for last five years, I learned that everyone uses a physical and/or digital calendar. That calendar is sacred. If it’s not on there, it doesn’t happen.

I get annoyed when something gets planned or bumped at the last minute. I’m not talking about randomly, but on a regular basis.

I’m not calling you an idiot for not having a calendar. I just think you’re foolish to keep your schedule in your head. Additionally, if people rely on your calendar to schedule things involving you, what other incentive do you need to create and maintain a calendar accessible to others?

It’s alright. They can just text/call me and I’ll let them know.

What if you’re off the grid for a few hours, or your cell phone battery is dead? Do you really want the back-and-forth exchange one person has to undertake with several people?

How about if someone is asking me on the spot?

Tell them you’ll check your calendar and get back to them. Or, keep a paper copy on hand with the next few weeks.

Tip: I can export my private ICAL (.ics) file[2. How? On the left, click the dropbown arrow next to your calendar, then Calendar Settings. Under Private Address, right-click and save the ICAL file to your computer.], then copy it onto my Apple iPod (3G). It’s not painful to do this every few days and it forces me to have a backup on my computer. If you have a newer iPod or iPod Touch, you could do this, too.

Spammers know they can flood your @replies tab. (Of course, you can easily block and report them as spam.)

Tip: I understand that many Twitter users have difficult names to spell. Don’t rely on your memory. On the website, hover over the message you want to reply to and click “reply.” (End tip.)

At the time of this writing, the last four pages of my @replies tab only has nineteen legitimate @replies to me. (Well, technically fourteen because five are mine.[1. I sign my Twitter updates from @scarletparadigm with @bryan.])

Each page has twenty (20) Twitter updates. So, if I use fourteen in my math, 17.5% of 80 @replies are from Twitter users who don’t know how to @reply their friends correctly.

I’m leaning toward blocking repeat idiots offenders, but that’d take a lot of work. Maybe I should block anyone who can’t @reply properly. Is that too harsh?

Completeness and/or full disclosure

Explain yourself. Most auction descriptions are too brief or simply repeat the item name. Why are you selling the item? How long have you had it for? What comes in the box?

Even though eBay auctions have a built-in shipping, return policy, and payment tab, repeat the shipping, handling, and payment details in the description. (You know, for redundancy and decreasing miscommunication.)

Don’t use stock photos. The bidders will usually ask, so save them time.

Display several clear photos of the item. If you know someone with a DSLR camera, get a white foam poster board and take the photos of the item(s) on it. Try to take the photo in some shade. If it’s too bright, get a friend to hold a diffuser over the item(s). For best results, make a light tent. (See “How To: DIY $10 Macro Photo Studio” or “How to Make An Inexpensive Light Tent – DIY“)

Link to a few glowing reviews of the item.

Don’t pay unnecessary fees

Host photos elsewhere. There’s no need to pay eBay more money for photo hosting. If you have Flickr, WordPress/WordPress.com, or Tumblr, create a set/page with a gallery of photos for your item(s). Don’t forget to link to the photos within the auction description!

Increase views, watchers, and bids

Use eBay’s first free image so it shows up in the listings.

End the auction around 9:30pm, and if possible, on the weekend. This will help get more buyers looking at your auction, especially for more expensive items. If you end the auction at 3pm on a weekday, it’ll be more difficult for people at the office to participate in the last few minutes of a bidding war. Don’t forget to calculate the time zones you want to cover. (For example, if you want to end the auction at 9:30pm EST, start the auction at 6:30pm PST.)

For a fee ($0.10), eBay can schedule your auction to start at a certain time and day. If you want to save that ten cents per auction, and you’ll be at a computer when you want to start the auction, fill everything out and save as a draft. You can post it later.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to take some photos of some more items I’m going to put up for auction.

Do you have more time-tested suggestions? Please take a few minutes to share them with a comment, and explain how it’s helped you. Thanks! (Back off, spammers. I’ll nuke comments and ban IP addresses without hesitation.)